At Market & How to Stir Fry

This week you’ll be getting more greens, onions and some bok choy. This Chinese cabbage is low in calories and sodium and is high in vitamins A and C. It lends itself to Asian cooking like this simple Bok Choy recipe from Steamy Kitchen. The recipe also has tips on prepping Bok Choy for cooking.

Speaking of Asian cooking, a stir-fry is a great way to use bok choy and many of the other vegetables you’ll be receiving this season. Here are some tips to make sure your stir-fry turns out right.

Stir-fry tips

- Having wok is great, but if you don’t, just choose a large flat-bottomed pan that will allow lots of your ingredients to make contact with the heat at the same time.

- Use an oil with a high smoke temperature like peanut, canola or grapeseed oil.

- Always make sure the pan is thoroughly heated before adding anything to it. You can throw a few drops of water onto the pan and see if they sizzle to make sure the pan is hot enough.

- One of the keys to stir-frying is being able to throw your ingredients into the pan quickly, so mise in place is important. Have all your ingredients chopped and nearby before you start cooking. Also, do your best to cut all your ingredients into similarly sized pieces. This will allow them to cook in the same time frame.

- If you’re adding a protein (beef, chicken, shrimp, pork, tofu), cook it in the pan without the vegetables and then set it aside. If the pan looks crowded, divide the meat in half and cook it in two batches. Add the meat back into the pan when your vegetables are almost finished cooking to allow the flavors to blend.

- As you start cooking the vegetables, add harder, starchier vegetables first as they’ll take longer to cook.

- Another key to achieving a perfect stir-fry is to keep it moving. Continually stir your vegetables.

- If you’re new to stir-frying, try cooking a few ingredients at a time, setting them aside and then bringing everything together for the final few minutes of cooking. This makes it easier to manage.

- For an easy step-by-step stir-fry guide and a few simple stir-fry sauces, check out this article from Bon Appetit.